The Wine Mistress
by Strife21
Summary: A/U: Courtesans versus Seductresses; Tifa versus her elite competitor, Aeris in a duel against the better service for men in the corrupt world they live in. Revelations are found when the both of them meet their perfect match.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

A/N: This is an Alternative Universe (A/U)-based fanfiction. A lot of OOCness and Dark/Drama/Angst stuff. The pairing is unknown.   
  
This fanfic was created while I pondered on the faults of society and oppression individuals face everyday.   
  
*Warning* Do not suspect this fanfiction to be based on just fluffy love. There is violence, sexual situations, profanity, racism, depression, and drugs. Even though love is thrown into scenes, it is only there because of the original plot. I know this warning may sound like a message that wards people to read it, but give it a chance and enjoy.  
  
  
The Wine Mistress  
---------------.  
"Prologue: Once upon a time..."  
  
  
  
  
  
Nothing more than a worthy wench to spend a night with. Drooling, lustful men buy their time for their body. For an amount, their customer's nights fill with the heat of forbidden affairs, and taming of animalistic cravings. Even if their body is used purposely for the benefit of another, they enjoy their work and sometimes use their professions to lure rich men into the invisible leashes, twisted around their hands.  
  
They were not Courtesans. In fact, those girls were called Seductresses. Though a Courtesan's purpose is most alike that of the Seductress, the Courtesan is very high-priced, and is more than a one night stand. Courtesan's were beautiful women with the services of being a date, to acting as a fake fiance. They had the right to pick their suitors, and most pick high profiled, clean, young men to be escorted by.  
  
One difference that stands out between a Courtesan and a Seductress was that the Courtesan is not all for the sex. Actually, the Courtesan has every right to turn down a demand for sex from her suitor. They believe that a suitor must show they are worthy spending a night in bliss with a Courtesan.  
  
In the Kingdom Belai (prounounced as it sounds: Bell-aye), lived one of the most valuable Courtesans of the time. A beautiful young woman named Tifa; nicknamed 'The Wine Mistress' to all the young suitors, was the most wanted of them all. Despite her vivid beauty, she carried a keen intelligence that made many men adore her in more ways than one.  
  
As you can imagine, having to be the most wanted, her schedule was often busy. And because she recieved many customers, some who's even had her for the fifth time, she became wealthy and owned a mansion in the center of the city.  
  
Being that of highest attention from men, Tifa often grew tired of her duties, yet she never backed out from her work. Beside fulfilling the wishes of the man, she perceive that not all men desire a woman only for the sake of sleeping with them. Tifa could also be a motherly and friendly figure; talking to them and comforting them about their problems, and filling them with insight. All, if not most, compliment her of her talent to relieve a man's soul with such lovely words.   
  
But Tifa was also a fierce, dark, woman. When people mean nothing but to exchange pity, she is cryptic and harsh. She never liked people who had lesser faith and boasted. It was a mystery she carried within her that many men accompany her to find the reason out.  
  
An 'intellectual demon of a Courtesan', one of the many descriptions of her, as men talked amongst themselves when balls and parties where being set up, and most of those parties and balls were held by high officials and prefected individuals.  
  
But of course, when one is so highly noticed, comes the hissing of opression from society and others. Seductresses, who ran a whole different line than Courtesans, despise the other group all because of the jealousy they felt from none other than the most respected of them all. They felt that a Courtesan is no different to a Seductress other than a Courtesan was more picky to their suitors, and don't fulfill sexual desires of those suitors for that matter. The mere difference,they felt, wasn't enough to rate Courtesans respectable escorts that Seductresses.   
  
Competition between the two groups of servicee by women, grew viciously in the past year (when the Wine Mistress came to business), and Tifa's higher competitor was a voluptuous Seductress named Aeris; nicknamed 'The Venus' to her customers.   
  
Aeris the Seductress was most wanted of her kind. Also popular to many men, she was elite in her work, as elite as Tifa is with her own. But, beauty in Aeris, outstands her soul more. She was also dark, fierce, but overly competitive. Never did she care of the well being of her suitors, it was all for the pleasures for her and the large amount of cash she recieves for it.  
  
It was safe to say that the competition between the two was close to a tie. Both of them talented in their own ways; both of them wanted highly in their society; both of them popular to the eyes of men. None was ahead than the other as of now.  
  
Yet, the fight between the better choice of women flourished in the city. And it wasn't until the curiousity of one man, who made contact with both sides of the story, that the question of best of both women was answered.  
  
...As well as the other questions brought along the way of his journey.  
  
--End of Prologue-- 


	2. Chapter 2: The societal view of the Cour...

The Wine Mistress  
---------------.  
"The societal view of the Courtesan.."  
  
  
  
Red velvet touched the dark, gray swirled marble below her feet. She stood elegantly still as her servant, a younger girl in a similar dress except shorter and in silk, ran up to her with a scroll held between both her hands. The young girl reached her, quickly kneeling on one knee as she presented the opened scroll.  
  
"83 suitors to pick from for the Grande De Gar ball tonight, my Lady," she spoke softly, eyes down for it was a strict rule to never look up at her master's face or eyes, "Which one will it be?"  
  
Deep crimson eyes flickered annoyance for a moment before it retreated back to its calm form and gazed at the opened scroll in front of her. None of the names seemed to amuse or interest her in any way. The name she caught just then made her let out a 'tsk' from her dark red lips.  
  
She spoke in an incinerating tone,"It's the fifth time he's asked me to accompany him this week. Disturbingly pathetic, that one," she reached a long, delicate finger to the name and tapped it once, "Give him a 40 day suspension."  
  
Suspension of her services didn't sound very harsh when said, but for the man who recieves was more like punishment. The servant girl nodded, knowing that informing the man that he recieved the suspension would be a full night of having to listen to the man's begging. She quickly turned the roll to her and scratched a mark beside the name, then smoothed it back in front of her mistress.  
  
Dull eyes once again scrolled the list of names, until they stopped at a peculiar male, who's name she had not heard of.  
  
"Who is this man?" she lifted a finger to the scroll again, this time pointing to the name with the end of her perfectly shaped finger nails.  
  
"A new Count in Belai, from Pomer'e [pronounced: Pom-err-eh]; he moved just last week, my Lady."  
  
A pair of eyebrows lifted in wonder, "And.. his background?" she faced her servant and pushed the scroll aside, an indignition that she was permitting the girl to look up at her.  
  
The girl did, and looked shyly at her master as she stood up with a nod, "I will as soon as possible, my Lady."  
  
The crimson eyes watched as the girl turned to leave, but she held up a hand in front of her and spoke highly, "That won't be necessary. Inform Count Strife that I will be his escort for tonight."  
  
Held in confusion, the servant stared dumbly at her master, wondering why her master did not think that a background check over this man was not sufficient for her in order to choose. Nevertheless, she held back her questioning, knowing what damage comes when you question the intelligence of her master.  
  
"Yes, my Lady, I will inform him," she nodded again before hurrying off; the fair-skinned woman a distance away, watching her, expressionless in the face.  
  
After the figure of the servant girl disappeared within her sight, she turned around to the dark hall she was walking through. There was barely any light in the large halls of her mansion; she had always prefer the dark over the sunlight. The very truth of all her reasons was clearly seen in her style of clothes.   
  
Everything was dark; no light colors was ever seen her closet or room. She dressed in a way to show people that she was some creature of the night; in which is true in one way. Not that she would care if the people of the outside world would talk about her under their breath, as if she was a vampire, or a sinful slut; those words she chose to ignore a long time ago.  
  
Clothes were not the only thing that made mouths speak falsely, her odd yet alluring behavior attracted much attention in the kingdom itself.  
  
True, she was intellectual and incredibly up-to-date, but she talked a lot of the faults the world has. She would talk facts that would discriminate her line of work as well as the line of work most of her suitors participate in. It was something her suitors would often beg of her to not start an arguement for it (for their bosses and colleagues were invited to the party), and sometimes she would keep a promise to not let her disgust for this life grace her tongue, though it was not always kept.  
  
Her black, high-heels clicked loudly on the marble as she kept her walking towards her room where some of her other servants stood waiting outside. She was ready to leave to visit the church, a habit she had always carried with her. It was already the evening, half past five in the grand clocks, and dusk was setting in outside in the November skies. The reason she would leave at dusk to visit was because she was not permitted to visit it during daylight.  
  
Discriminating to her, of course, but it was a rule her society placed over her. Prostitutes who promisciously have multiple partners, and with money nevertheless, was very much looked down in the neutral society (most where the women). Even if she was a Courtesan, not really a prostitute, society claimed them all the same. And so, along with her fame of escorting, came the ranting from the jealousy of others. But she found it just fine for her taste, as city people other than her suitors expressed her to shame, for she found all of the world as silent enemies. Even people in the churches who claim to be close as one to God and yet find non-equals in this city, were her enemies. Even her suitors were her enemies.  
  
As she entered her room with five others, she watched idly as her servants hurried to dress her in another velvet dress, this time black and dark blue, with its end dragging a good three feet behind her. One of her servants brought out her black cloak and gently placed it around her and over her shoulders; its hood over her head of long, mahogany strings of hair.  
  
Five minutes later, she came down from the grand staircase in the middle of the Grand Hall area of her home, when the servant who brought her the scroll earlier, ran to meet her on the bottom of the stairs with a tall man with blond hair behind her. Her eyes stood unpleasingly over the man; she forbid men to enter her home without her honor of permission and yet there stood a man.  
  
"What's the meaning of this?" she spoke slowly, but her tone sounded furious  
  
The man eyed her in pleasure, evidently absorbed by the dark beauty of the woman on the bottom landing, "Count Strife, Ms. Lockheart," he bowed shortly and presented a boquet of rare violet lilies and dark-green ferns, "I would like to thank you for picking me as your suitor tonight. I'm very glad you have chosen me."  
  
Her eyebrows moved towards the ceiling as she took the handfull of flowers, and her eyes calmed into a soft red, "Oh, why thank you Count Strife, but I have to ask you to leave now. I must go to my schedule to attend church, and party isn't until 9 o'clock tonight."  
  
The man supressed his smile and nodded, "Sorry to have bothered you, Ms. Lockheart. Please pardon my 'may-be' extreme actions, because I am not very accustomed with escorts. You are my very first," he ended sheepishly.  
  
She let her red lips contort into a friendly smile, "I will be sure to remember that, Count Strife."  
  
Giving a short bow, the man exited with another smile, as the nerved, servant girl pulled him out of the mansion.  
  
Exposed to the cool night air once more, the man ran towards his carriage down the u-shaped street and entered the compartment. He kept his driver from driving off and watched as the woman in black-velvet leave her home and enter her own carriage.  
  
"So, what do you think of the 'Wine Mistress'?" came a voice from the hidden man across from him.  
  
"She's like the all the world's beauty, wrapped in shadow of velvet and silk," he admired breathlessly, and turned to the man across from him with the question, "She lacks a bit in hospitality though."  
  
The other man smiled back at him, "Not at all. You broke a rule in her home by entering in without her welcome," he watched as the blond man nodded and crossed his arms, "Just you wait until tonight. Tifa just can't give her respects and hospitality to others until she puts her 'game face' on."  
  
--End of Chapter 2--  
  
A/N: Thanks to the reviewers ^_^. Much love to you all. 


	3. Chapter 3: The Grande De Gar Ball

The Wine Mistress  
---------------.  
"Grande De Gar Ball"  
  
  
  
De Gar was the proud family of Belai, who's lineage of men governed the kingdom for centuries. Although the men of De Gar held most of Belai's citizen's respect, every year the new governor is as more of a sophist than the other. Nevertheless, the kingdom's citizens tend to overlook the fact that their long lineage of male governors were nothing but stupid, envious, rich boys who's family was too selfish to give up their long pastline of governing Belai.  
  
With the facts of the family line of De Gar kept silent among its most welcomed allies and friends, the De Gar family's popularity seemed to rise more and more through the years as balls and parties were constantly being held at their wealthy palace.  
  
The annual 'Grande De Gar Ball' was their most popular of all; invited only those of the family's closest friends and accomplices, as well as the kingdom's ruler and most of all of the wealthiest in all Belai. It was once popular only because the most wealthiest arrived and were honored guests. But what once was reason for popularity for the sake of being someone important in a social level, was now downsized and seized by competition of who your escort was, and how much did you pay to have them for the night.  
  
Belai, of course, had two of the most sought-after escorts, and most men who received turn downs from both ends, come alone or with a replacement to see which lucky man was accepted by either. Though their face showed no hint of jealousy, remorse eats them from the inside silently, knowing that some other day they must try again, and could only hope to be picked.  
  
The ball traditionally started from nine in the evening, until dawn the next day if possible. As carriages encircled the De Gar estate, lights around the palace's acres rose into a frenzy of spectacular show, equivalent to the bright stars in the clear night sky. Five minutes after nine, music would blare inside the palace walls as the ball officially began, and the guests walked past the palace's entry arch, where they were announced, properly listing them present.  
  
It was a custom that if a man had with him a Courtesan or a Seductress to any ball or party, it is imperable that the man must wait at the party itself for their escort to arrive with her carriage. The importance of waiting for your escort at the ball itself, not pushing the woman in a rush of things by picking her up yourself, was a strict rule carried by all Courtesans and Seductresses.  
  
And so, many men stood waiting out in the cold November night, including two of whom the rest heard had luckily had their requests called by the two escorts who attended the ball only on their second visit. While the morose men stood gazing at them steely, the two men who were being envied decided that they were going to have a rough night with the other men, and thought it best if the two introduced each other; hopefully then at least they would have one ally.  
  
The tall man with a well done build, offered a hand to the other man, "Count Strife from Pomer'e," he spoke gladly yet cautiously as he eyed the other blond man in front of him, who was glaring somewhat with a stoic expression that concealed sophistication.  
  
The man stared at the titled Count Strife and his hair that seemed to betray the laws of gravity, and thought to himself as to why a Count from Pomer'e would move to Belai. He returned the offering briefly afterwards and also introduced himself, "Lord Rufus Shinra," he replied in a short time, and quickly pulled back his hand.  
  
"Ah, you are King Shinra's son?" the man named Rufus didn't seem amused, "Will your father attend?"  
  
Rufus shook his head at his question; his white robes of silky cloth and marble-white fabric moved in unison to his change in stance, "No, my mother has decided that he should skip this one. Last year, she had caught him about to snog the next wench in the corner, and you see, my mother was also invited."  
  
"I see," Cloud replied with a smile and changed the subject, "I've noticed by how the other men have been staring at you at the same way as me that you are escorting one of the best escorts there is."  
  
"That is so; she is a Seductress, perhaps you have heard of The Venus?" Rufus asked proudly, a loftly look prominent in his eyes.  
  
Cloud nodded to him, mirroring his look of pride, plus a haughty grin, "You've caught The Venus, while I have caught The Wine Mistress. I must ask, who is the better of the two?" it was a question of full curiousity, yet the man in front of him had taken it as a rude boasting.  
  
Slitting his eyes, Rufus gave a brisk scoff, "The Wine Mistress, as far as I know, is overrated, as I don't understand how a snobby little wench would ever be popular for just the way she talks or looks. Afterall, this isn't just for escorting, but also for the night they spend with you," Rufus gave a sarcastic, pitious grin and crossed his arms in front of him, "I feel sorry that you must accompany a Courtesan, such as her. You know that only six men were able to spend the night with her?"  
  
The mocking in his voice stood as a threat to him as he postured himself in his suit of smooth gray and black garments, "The fact doesn't change a thing, does it? I am accompanying her, and so, what I think of how the night should go shouldn't be ruined by any garbage you might have to say. Besides, you are escorting the woman who have slept with more men than all the fingers you can count from all of the guests here; maybe I should feel sorry for you when you find that you've been shamed with the sharing of diseases she may carry."  
  
Their supposedly truce was broken instantly, but fortunately, before the men could deepen their rivalry among each other, two carriages who outstood in the crowd passed the gates and stopped accordingly in front of palace entrance. The two, strangely, were one in front of the other. The black in front of the red.   
  
As if recited, both drivers of the carriages stepped down to open the doors, exposing the two women to the cool night air in unison. As the crowd moved to the sides to give the two women room, both of them glanced at the other. The woman in a white dress with red elegant stripes flowing down her front, her bare shoulders glistening with white flecks of sparkles, smiled slyly with her red lips to the other.  
  
"And so, Tifa, another ball, another chance for me to show just how unimportant you are in this business."  
  
The other woman stood rigidly still in her gothic dress that layed softly on the floor beneath her, its color of dark plum as the night above her, and its unique style gave off a sense of mystery on what layed beneath the unruffled cloth. Slowly she bowed to her rival named Aeris, and spoke once she met with her green eyes, gazing back unwavered by the other's threat, "Good evening to you too, Lady Aeris. Our second Grande De Gar Ball, if I recall right. Hope your night would be most well off than it was the last."  
  
Within moments, Tifa dispersed to her company for the evening before the shocked Aeris had time to reply to the comment she found rude.  
  
Cloud, who once again found the sight of the lovely Courtesan so breathtaking, bowed to his escort and pulled her hand for a kiss, "Lady Tifa, pleasure to see you once again. Are you ready to enjoy the ball?"  
  
Tifa nodded and smiled politely as she placed her hands around his left elbow, "So very sorry to have seemed a little stingy when you came by. I don't usually have men visit my grounds unless permitted," she moved her eyes to her front, "Terribly sorry for my rude actions."  
  
He smiled at her, amused with what the man in the carriage had said about her, finding it true, he gently placed a hand over hers, "No need to be, Lady Tifa. It was wrong for me to have been too excited to have you be my escort for tonight. I was acting foolishly," he enjoyed the kind smile he received.  
  
Not far away stood the young Shinra heir, who's eyes locked at the woman in the dark plum dress. Forcefully, his chin was pulled so his sight diverted to the woman who's face moved from a scowl to an affectionate smile.   
  
"I hope I haven't kept you waiting, Rufus? Shall we go ahead inside?" Aeris spoke in a sweet-toned voice.  
  
The young man removed the fingers from his chin roughly, making Aeris' smile turn back into a scowl, "Never steal my attention like that again, do you understand? Let me remind you that I'm leading tonight, not you."  
  
Aeris looked over at him in disbelief, "Let me remind you that I have chosen you tonight, not the other way. You know it's not too late for me to take back my decision."  
  
Unfrightened by the threat, Rufus smirked at his escort, "And if you happen to turn me down now, I can take you down ten times harder. Take heed of my name, Lady Aeris, I am not just any man you've chosen," he then took hold of her arm as he ravenously pulled her to his side, "And for your recent questions: You have kept me long, and please, let us go ahead inside."  
  
Aeris moved with him, trying to cool down from the man's arrogance, unable to find it possible as they reached the arch while her rival and her customer in front of them, were introduced into the party.  
  
  
  
--End of Chapter 3--  
  
a/n: I wanted to tell you guys once again that couples are still unknown. I've got about... 4 possibilities as of now, and more will come as the chapters pile. Thanks to those who read and review, hope this chapter good ^_^. 


	4. Chapter 4: The societal view of the Sedu...

A/N: Concerns to the following reviews-  
  
- The title of the story is inevitable to the couples it will have. Of course Tifa/someone will be one of the couples; but Aeris plays an important role, therefore she will be paired also.  
- I promised that the story would be twisted and dark; Aeris being 'sluttier' is one of them. Also, she has a reason, and she is not as 'sluttier' than she is mentioned so far.  
- The fact that Tifa looks sluttier in the game than Aeris is purely false. Tifa, in fact, is more shy than Aeris (think about the Golden Saucer). Don't criticize her clothes; she really had no control over it (gah.. hentais..).   
- You might notice facts that may sound like it doesn't really need to be there, but you have to understand that I'm trying to create an image of the whole story and not just the characters and the conflict of the plot.  
  
*This chapter I decided to place as next instead of the original for some of the concerns above. Hope you all understand maybe just a little bit*  
  
  
The Wine Mistress  
---------------.  
"Societal View of the Seductress.."  
  
  
Elegant balls, full of all kinds of people: Lovers; Sinners; Porcelin dolls; Rag dolls; Kind people; Harsh people.   
  
All of them the same to her.  
  
Nothing but mindless idiots, parading around the stable ground of the planet. Nothing but souls full of need, despaired with pain, living in a life denied to be as hell. They were all casings of empty bodies, only full of every deceitful act and promises every created by man.  
  
Everyone was... is, and she only found one other living creature who seems to think so.  
  
Aeris was a woman who owned many souls of men. Gifted with beauty and body, she served well in her line of work, and was the first to ever respectingly own her own title and nickname as a Seductress. Although she acts to many praising for her work, and even advertise and boast about them, she found that her choice in life was much a mistake.  
  
All the nights she stared up on ceiling walls after men she courted ended their sexual release, she would think of why she had to come to this. To come from a wealthy family of Barons and Baroness', into a highly paid prostitute used only to fulfill the needs of others. And the thoughts that multiplyed in her mind every night before sleep, it occured to her that they were now more than just thoughts, but concerns.  
  
She was doubting her life.  
  
She stared hard, the edges of her face sharp and precise, as the women who've come to the ball innocently with their husbands, gazed at her as if she reeked of spoiled eggs. Their nose crooked and aimed at her as she stood beside her unmoving partner, in which she regretted to take the offer from.  
  
She moved the long chestnut strand of hair away from her eyes as the figure of the woman in the plum dress and her handsome customer swayed along with the instruments of the band, making circles as the woman's plum dress spun in a hypnotizing haze.  
  
She scowled then, and turned away. Away to the women who eyed her like dirt; much rather prefering their spiteful sight than her rival and envy.  
  
After a while of scowling at the hating wives of the ball, she grew tired of standing like a statue as she watched one by one, the wives and their husbands, join the many others gather in the center of the high-towered room to dance.  
  
"Don't you feel like a moron? Standing here, the only couple.. If not dance, than tell me so I can just sit and glower the whole night," she seethed through her lips of ruby red to her partner who stood silent.  
  
"Sit then, and end this fretting of yours. Like a schoolgirl, my god," he muttered to her in such rudeness she found, that as she sat at the nearest round table, she suddenly didn't care if the man brought her reputation to the ground. It was just her luck, to service the oldest brat of the whole Belai.  
  
It was not only that the man was more of a child than, well, a man, it was also the fact that his attention has been wavering more to her rival. She rested her palm under her chin as she watched ellipses of cloth hover to the knees of women before falling slowly back to there ankles, and boredom consumed her as the woman in the plum dress laughed gayly.   
  
Everytime she would see her act so natural and enjoyed during parties and balls, it always had struck her odd. Her rival, and deep within her, her only ally; Tifa was a mystery in a well-wrapped box. True she found her as a threat, but knowing that Tifa thought life as nothing more than a phase until death, she found a small connection of hate towards life, therefore found her as the only one who would understand her thoughts if she ever let them out.  
  
Aeris knew the woman was very much a pessimist; scowling all the time, taking her life for granted; and the way the woman could fade into someone adorable in such a short time when with others was inspiring. She had never met a person who could turn to Life itself, easily flip them the bird, with no concern for punishment at all. She even got the point where she believed Tifa held a black hole in the area where her heart should be.  
  
Tifa is a rival to her, and an idol. A woman she would gladly befriend, and yet her rash demeanor toward her popularity over exceeds in will. This was the truth. If given the chance, Aeris knew she would atone to the Courtesan, whom she despised for not caring a damn bit if her reputation was ever destroyed by her or any other thing. To this, Aeris wondered why the woman became a Courtesan at all, if not for the attention of all men and for the money.  
  
To Aeris, this life she herself lived was nothing more but proof that she can be whatever the world had to offer. This being one of them. Being a Seductress was proof that she could be wanted. And money was just a bonus to it. And the sex? Nothing but an accomodation for the job. It was needed for the popularity, for the hording men and their needs. Not necessarily enjoyable in all occasions, actually she felt that it would fit her more if her work had the decision to have the sex in the end of the night or not (just like the Courtesans did).  
  
Her eyes moved suddenly as her partner was crowded by other men, older men, who was now asking him of reasons as to why he was not dancing in the middle of the room with her.  
  
"Aeris has requested to skip this one out; her feet had been bothering her all afternoon, as she claimed."  
  
"Bastard.." she grumbled under her breath, but did not bother to reply to her 'dear, special' partner for she found it normal, and was used to being bossed around. Sighing she went back to watching the fantasy-filled dancing of the room, her mind absorbing her own small illusions of her and a sweet man who claim to love her forever twirling happily across the room.  
  
"Would you care to dance, Lady Aeris? I've noticed you sitting in a great bored despair for a while now," she looked up in surprise as Tifa's handsome customer smiled kindly down at her. Flustered, she sat straight up and skeptically eyed him.  
  
"Tifa's partner, asking me to dance? It's my lucky night," she moved her eyes to the woman in the plum dress sitting a little ways away sipping a glass of wine, "Won't the 'ever-so-lovely' Courtesan be upset if she spotted me dancing with you?"  
  
The man looked at her with raised brows, "I believe she won't. It was her request that I ask you because she inspected that you had made a great mistake to be escorted by the young Shinra."  
  
Shocked and confused, her eyes went to the woman in the plum dress again, this time she had caught her gaze and a small gesture of her glass of wine to her before the woman turned her sitting body towards the crowd of dancers. Tifa's face showed no pride in her work to shock her, or showed anything as far as expressions in the face for that matter; as if requesting her own escort to dance with her enemy was all but an act of uncaring charity.  
  
Looking behind her as Rufus had not noticed that Tifa's partner had asked her to dance, she stood up with a sly smile in her flattered face, "I only hope she would still be okay with it if I happen to steal you away from her all night."  
  
The blond man with elusive hair chuckled at her remark and stuck out his hand for hers, "Shall we go, Lady Aeris?"  
  
Placing her hand on his, welcoming his warm and gentle touch, Aeris reflected his kind smile and nodded.  
  
  
  
--End of Chapter 4--  
  
a/n: There you go Aeris fans, a slight enlightening in her character in this chapter. A little bit of hint as to what the couples may be.. I'm still in the dark about it all the couple pairings though.. I'm torn x.x; agh!!   
  
Anyways, thanks to all the nice comments from the reviewers ^_^. Love you guys~ 


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